The Albany patriot. (Albany, Ga.) 1845-1866, June 10, 1848, Image 1
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Mr. March’s Letter to General Scott.
[Concluded from last trccA\]
War Department. >
Washington, April21, 1848.^
As a just ground of complaint, and a matter
tween Monterey and the Rto Grande, and that
it has interrupted the line of communication be
tween the two plaees, and seized large supplies
which were on their way to General Taylor’s
army.
“ If the hostile force between the Rio Grande
and General Taylor’s army is as large as re-
port represent it, our troops now on that river
may not be able to re-establish the line, nor will
it, perhaps be possible to place a force there
sufficient for the purpose, in time to prevent dis
astrous consequences to our army, unless aid
can be afforded from the troops under your im
mediate command.
“ From one to«*wo thousand of the new re*
cruits for the ten regiments, from this quarter,
will be on the way to the Brazos in the course
of three or four days. All the other forces will
be directed to that point, and every effort made
to relieve General Taylor from his critical situa
tion. You will have been fully apprized before
this can ranch you of the condition of things in
the valley of the Rio Grande, and at the head,
against the War Department It does more;
it shows how rash and inconsiderate you have
been in selecting topics for attack.
But the most serious consequences are at
tributed to the long, delay of these troops at the
Brazos. For your sake, I sincerely hope these
consequences are much exaggerated, because I
am quite confident it will be shown {hat you
alone are responsible for the delay. The War
Department did not—and it was proper that it
should not—issue any order in regard to the
movement of the troops after their arrival in
Mexico. The order from the department of
the 30th of April, making a division of the new
levies between the two columns, does not com
tradjet this assertion, for these levies were then
mostly within the United States; qnjy portions
of them had then reached Mexico. Until this
order took effect, the troop? at the Brazos, and.
indeed, on t|ie Rio Grande and with Gen’l
Taylor, were under your entire and unrestricted
command. As to this matter, you were under
no misapprehension; for on the 25th of April,
before you were informed what had been done
here to secure the Rio Grande line, you issued
quarters of General Tailor, and have taken, I
trust, such measures as the importance of the
subject requires. I peed not urge upon you the j an order in relation to the troops at the Brazoil.
fatal consequences which would result from any ! This place, .you well knew, was the general
serious disaster which might befal the army un-1 rendezvous of the new levies from the United
der Gen. Taylor, nor do I doubt that you w ill j States, and before you sailed qn your expedi-
do what is in your power tp avert such a ca- tion to Vera Cruz you were notified that the
of accusation, yon refer to your deficiency calamity/’ Mexican army were advancing upon General
means to make the descent, and to capture the) Tne course pursued by the War Department | Taylor. To have assumed that yog had not
city of Vera Cruz and the castle of San! on that occasion, which you ooovprt into a left at the Brazos, with a view to meet any
Juan dTlloa, and assume that the extent of that ; charge, must on revision, I think, commend it-! probable contingency, orders for the proper dls-
deficiency was the difference between what you 1 self to general approbation. Had it been in-j position of the troops which were, or might be
received and what you required. It would be i different to the alarming condition of General | sent there, would have implied an opinion that
quite as correct reason to say, that what you ! Taylors army, and forborne to use, at dm ear- you wanted suitably qualifications for the high
had having proved sufficient for the purpose,! liest moment, the most energetic measures to j station which had been assigned to you.
that difference showed the extent of the errors guard against the fatal consequences of its de-1 These troops w ere a part of your command,
in your estimate. The truth lies, perhaps be-1 feat, then too probrible, it would have deserved j and subject to your orders; and if they remain-
tween the two extremes. Yog had less, proba- i an arraignment as severe as that which you led one day at the Brazos after it was there
My, than you should have had, and you requir- j have made against it for having done its duty j known that they w ere not needed on tfie Rio
td much more than was necessary. That you ! in that critical emergency. When you first re-1 Grande fine, and would be serviceable with
did not have more, and indeed, all you asked 1 celvud the reasons assigned for the course I your column, the fault was entirely your
lor, I have already shown was not the fault pf adopted hprp, they appear to have been satis-; own, and in nowise imputable to the War De-
the War Department. : tory. In your despatch of the 28th April, you j partment. If your opinion be not extravagant
General Jesup was with you at Vera Cruz, say: “ Yesterday I learned, by your letter of;—and 3*011 say it is not—that but for the diver-
tow your means, and is capable of forming an es- the 22d, and the Adjutant General’s of the 2Gtfi 1 sjon of Gen’l Cadwalader s forces from 3*ou, and
timate of their sufficiency, lie is, as his letter ult, that all the recruits of the regiment—some
herewith show’s, disposed fo fie just, and ewn three thousand—raised or likely to be raised in
generous to 3*011 r fame. To his opinion on the time for this arm}*, have been ordered .to the
subject, no well-founded exception can be t:i- Rio Grande.” You did not then intimate die
ken. He says in reflerence to your complaints slightest dissatisfaction—mot even a premonito-
on account of a deficient supply of surf-boats,\ ry symptom of that deep distress with which,
siege-train, and ordnance stores; *Thp result instantly on Mr. Trist’s.arrival in Mexico, you
ebons that lie (General Scott) had surf-boats! represent }*ourself to have been seized. It is a
and stores enough !” And of the delay of which coincidence not unworthy of notice that thelet-
you complain, he folly exonerates the War De- i ter containing 3*our first condemnatory remark
partment, and ascribes the *vhole to yourself, 100 this subject was written on the day of (lie
ami to unavoidable accidents. The imputation j date of Mr. Trist’s first note to 3’ou, and only
r/iat you were designedly crippled in your j the day before your cautious reply to it; and jn
means, is a charge a* preposterous as it is u&-1 both you assail the war department. Y"our
founded. j withering disappointment seems to have sluni-
I am a wane that the execution of some of the j bored for ten days, and then to have been arotis-
arrangemeuts for the Vera Cruz expedition was] stl by the appearand of Mr. Trist in Mexico,
obstructed aiul delayed by accidents, but they i and your quarrel with him. If the order from ! it is not important to inquire into that matter,
were such as common sagacity could not fora- J the War Department had in fact “ diverted” the j But there is a question of serious import, to
see, or human agency control. They were not, j force with General Cadwahjder, still it was 1 which I think the country w ill expect you to
however, more than a considerate mind, bring- \ fully justified by the threatening aspect of affairs ! answer.
thp “ much precious timp” lost at the Brazos,
yoq “ might easily have taJcen this city [Mcxic.o]
in the month of June, and at one-fifth of the
loss sustained in August -and September,” you
have, indeed, a most fearful account to settle
with your counfry.
1 cannot, however, but regard yoftf specula
tive opinions on this subject as fanciful and
w ild. Y'ou really over estimate the force which
landed at the Brazos and subsequently joinpd
you. From the best calculation which can be
made from data in the Adjutanf General’s office,
the number was much less than you imagine,
and did not probably exceed one fhousand.—
As the refutation of your charge against the
department for diverting these troops is in no
wise impaired by the number, be it more or Jess,
that a measure which appeared to be so unwise
and so injurious tq the operations of the army,
could have emanated frpjn yourself; but they
were less charitable towards the President and
Secretary of War. Both* were denounced for
what 3 T ou had donp; they were unscrupulously
charged with weakness and incapacity; with
being actuated by hostility to 3*ou, and a desire
to sepure popularity with the volunteers, Nor
wero these bitter assault intermitted, until it
began to be suspected fiiat they werp mis
directed,
If you really regarded, on the Gth of May,
th*. augmentation of your forces as being of
such vital importance, it is almost as difficult tQ
account for thp course takpn to re-pngage the
volunteers, as for their premature dfephaf-ge. I
am misled by information, Qn which 1 ought to
rel)*, if many of these volunteers would not have
continued in the service, if proper measures had
been taken at Jalapa, while they were indulging
the hope of participating in further triumphs,
and of being among those who wqpld enjoy the
enviable distinction of first entering as victors
the proud capital of the Mexican republic.—
Though the Subject was there presented to their
consideration, no vigorous efforts seem to have
been made-=-no attempt tq fornj pew companies
—or to master them into spryice, until this
powerful inducement was weakened or with
drawn—until ffipy had been detached from a
victorious army, as |f no longer deemed worthy
to be a part of it—-gent sixty miiq# towards
their homes into a ppstileptial region, and there
brought within tUp systematic influence of the
sentiments vyhich was natural that rnfltiy* should
feel and manifest at the piomenf of embarking
to return to their families and friends. (Con
sidering thp manner in which the President’s
order on this subject was attempted to be exe
cuted, it is not strange that, among more than
three thousand patriotic volunteers, sept away
1)3* your order of the 4th of May, onjy about
“fifteen individuals” >vere found willing tq re
engage,
You geem to hpyp suddenly* conceived the
notion pf converting (he army, “like Cqrtez,”
“ into a sel f-sustaining machine and, to make
the resemblance between yourse|f and thp Span
ish hero more complete, 3*011 indulged a dream
of fancy, until you seem to have adopted it as
a matter of belief, that you were “ doomed qt
Washington; and you became, Ijke him, nl-
ways afraid that fee next ship op messenger
might recall or further cripple” 3*011, 4 should
not tie forgotten, that tljp design of this unac
countable military movement was first commu
nicated to «Mr. Trist, before you had given any
intimation of it to your government, and tvhile
under the perturbation of mind which h|s un
welcome presence in Mexico had produced.—
Had you confided thjs extraordinary plan of a
campaign to him after tfie “ happy change” |n
your relations—after you had digested his
“ farrago of insolence, conceit, and arrogance’*
—-and after he, (oo, mistaking notoriety for
fame, had sought to win it by disobeying the
orders of his government, defying its authority,
and assailing its conduct—this distinguishing
Jfumbo: 9.
and your forgetfulness pf others, together with iiitspn from your misapprehension pf the text-
l’/lO. I*nnoWlll mm/I r ■ i*r l i~ 11 n V Ann ’I'll A a. fhniu J*— . u ? A. li - .
your fanciful conjectures and surmises. Your
recall is, y*ou assert, the long suspended “blow
of power,” which you figd the sagacity clearly
to predict. It is somewhat remarkable that
3’oiir predictions preceded the events whjfph you
imagine provoked that blow. As early as the
25th of Jujy, soon after “the happy change in
my (your) relations, 4 bofe official and private,
W’ith Mr. Trist, * 3*ou looked, you say “Ip be
dismissed from the service of my (your) coun
try*.” If your recall can fie regarded as a dis
missal, you are entitled to all the credit pf the
fulfilment of 3*oqr own early prediction.
In presenting in its trap light the Preskjpnt’s
compliance with 3’our owp request to be recall
ed, whicji 3*ou now denominate your dismissal,
I may bo obliged to strip it pf the embellishments
3*ou have ingeniously thrown around it; though
in dq)ng this you may* be deprived pf much up
on which you depend to sugfitin your claim to
be considered a persecuted and injured man.
As early as June you begged to be recalled.
You allege that this application was “rebukingly
decfiped. This is not saying the exact thing.
The reply to your request wgs, “that it would
be decided with exclusive reference to the pub
lic good. When that shall render it proper in
his [(he President’s] opinion (o withdraw y*ou
front your present command, fiis determination
to do so will be made known to you.” This
was not a denial, but a suspension of present ac
tion, accompanied with an assurance of future
action on the subject. Your request was still
pending; a regard tq the public good then stood
in the way of the immediate gratification of ypur
wishes; but the President promised to act de<
The principle there laid dpwn is qf vital impqiv
tanee (o subordinate officers, and in nq respect
impairs (he rights or the authority of those m
chief cogimatid, As the principles which you
arraign are thp preations ©fyour own fancy, and
have no countenance or support from pay letter,
I am (n np w*py implicated by “the fatal conse-
quenepa” you deduce from them. Whether le
gitimate or fanciful, they do disturb (he po
sitions lajd dcr\vn in my letter.
I cannot, however, fipt regard yoqr solicitude
for the support of discipline to be more ostenta
tious tjian profound. When a general at the
head qf an army* of freemen, who do not lose
their fights as citjgpns by becoming soldiers seta
up pretensions to dictatorial power—when j
contemns the authority of his government, and
is mwefi more ready to cpnsure than to execute
its prders and insfrpctions ; -yW’h en k° denounce* ;
as an oufrpgc rgjd a punishpient the attempt to
submit h|s acts, charged to be an offence against
a subordinate officer, to an investigation in the
mildest form—wfien he administers an indignant
reproof to hjs puperior, for uphplding the
sacred fight to appeal, upon which depend*
the security* qnd protection of all under his com
mand,—such a general sets an example of in
subordinate cpnduct, qf wide and witfiering in
fluence upon pound military discipline.
By extending my comments upon ypur letter,
I might multiply* proofs to show that your accu-'
Rations against the head of the War Department
are unjust—that your cpmplaints are uufound-
ed—tljat the designs imppted by you to the gov
ernment, to embarrass your operations, impair
our rightful authority as commander, and to
finffively on thp question when that obstacle offer outrage and insult *° your feelings, are all
shpuld be removpd, Judging from the state of! the m^re creations of a distempered fancy ; but
things at (fie headquarters of the army in Janu- to do jnore than I have done, would, in iriyr
ary, lie concluded tfipt >t was removed, and that (judgment, he a work of supererogation,
he ought no longer fo require of you reluctant { In conclusion, 1 may be permitted to say,
service as commanding general. This certain- i that, as one of the President’s advisers, I, ha4
ly cannot be called persecution or punishment, j a full s^arc in the responsibility of the act which
1 do not deem it proper fp comment on the state ; assigned you to the command of our armies in
of things at thp headquarters qf the army, to
wfijcli allusion fs made in the letter grapting
your request; nor to express pn opinion ps to
thp ?hare of responsibility therefor, which rests
upon ypurself or others; that (patter is, to a con
siderable extent, involved in the investigations
Mexico. I felt interested, even more than nat
urally appertained fo my official position, that
success and glory should signalize your opera-
tlops. it w as my duty tq bring to your aid the
efficient co-operation of the War Department
I npver had a feeling that did not harmonize
into view all tho vast difficulties ofthe case, on the Rio Grande ; but I am quite sure it did! If these ne\y levies, yvhich had just entered j mark of your confidence in him \yould have
would have expected. When your complaints not divert them. No previous order from the j the service, >vould have enabled you to capture caused tnuch less surprise. This novel con-
on this subject were first received here, evincing; department had designated any oilier place of j the city of Mexico jn June, w ith a comjiara-
asthey (fid, that you intended to hold thedepdrt-1 rendezvous than the Brazos for the troops that i tively small loss,* why did you, at the very time
went responsible for every untoward event, the j were to join your column. It was well under- you discovered that they were so much needed,
heads of die several bureaus w*ere called on by stood, before you left Washington, that all the and w ould have beep so useful, send away from
me to show how they had executed the duties ; troops for both armies were to be sent to that y*our army* three times as many volunteers, who
which had been confided to tb^m, particularly | place, and there to fall under your command, had been many months in service, and were, as
‘ *' you acknowledge, “respectable in discipline
in regard to matters referred to bv you. The j This arrangement was not, nor w as It expec-
evidence they presented of having done all that j ted that it could be here changed, until you
was required, or could have been expected, con- had penetrated so far into the enemy’s country
vinced me—and I venture to say that on a full as to render your communication w ith that
examination, it will satisfy any mind open to 1 place of general rendezvous difficult and dan-
conviction—{fiat all your complaints, so far as gerous,
they* imputed Mame to the War Department, or You also complain that thfe order was not
any of its branches, are unfounded, it wifi do countermanded. If there had been such an or-
sweh nyjre-rr-it will show what great industry, der, and it hufl been countermanded, what
promptness, uncommon capacity, and oxtraordi-1 would have been the consequence ? The troops
nary exertions, jn relation to everything connec-! w ould have gone forward from the United
ted with the war, have characterized the action j States under the former orders of the depart-
of each of these subordinate departments, A« went, which would have taken them to die
a commendation justly merited these several same place.
branches of tlje department, assailed as ffiey | Y T ou allege that “ the news of the victory of
are indirectly by you, I see no good reason j Buena Vista reached Washington in time to
lor withholding my opinion, that an instance countermand Cadw'aloder’s orders for the Rio
cannot be found where so much has been j Grande before his departure from New Orleans.”
done, in so short a time, by any similar body of, I notice this specification of neglect ot duty, to
officers under similar circumstances. [ show the extent to which you have carried your
As you have, by implication laid * heavy t fault-finding, and the industry with w'hich you
band upon the bureau which is charged ivith the: have searched for occasion to indulge it
•onerous duties of executing the laws and orders Your assumption is, that the news of the vic
tor raising and seeding forward the recruits and' tory of Buena Vista should have satisfied the
levies, 1 feel bound to affirm that you have done j War' Department that Cadwalader’s forces
to that branch of the public service the greatest 1 were not needed on the Rio Grande; and ,the
injustice. No industry has been spared—no j omission to countermand, as soon as that news
possible effort omitted—to raise the forces | was received, the orders to send them there,
which were anthGrized, and to send tfesm to; was a neglect deserting severe animadversion,
their destination within the briefest practicable i How did you act under similar circumstances t
Period. The numerous orders issued from the | With better means r#f information as to the ac-
Adjutant-GencraTa office, and its voluminous tual condition of the Rio Grande frontier, after
^frespondence on that subject, will sustatn this thn victory of Buena Vista, you did not deem it
I prudent, after beingTorty-one days in possession
Aou have pressed with unwonted zeal the of the news of that victory, to issue positive or-
c ^ r ge in relation to diverting the detachments; dprs to remove a siuglc man from that frontier;
of the new regiments under General G’adwala-1 yet you venture to censure me for not having
^ ers command, to the Brazos, and have indulg- sent the troops away the moment the news
reached Washington.
You received information of that victory on
or before the 14th of March, for on that day
you proclaimed it in orders to your army. On
ihe 25th of April, more than forty days thereaf
ter, you issued an order to the commanding of
ficer at tlie Brazos to embark for Vera Cruz
“such detachments of the new regiments as may
have been ordered by the War Department to
Point Isabelbut you made it conditional with
reference to the safety of the line of the Rjo
Grande; and said to that officer, thatyod relied
upon his “sojind judgment to determine on the
spot whether that Uue would not be too much
exposed by the withdrawal of the troops in
question.” Thus it appears that you do not
hesitate to impute neglect of duty to nie, for
not having adopted and acted on the conclu
sion that the line ofthe Ria Grande was safe
the moment I heard of the victory of Buena
Vista; but when acting on ffie same snbjec.t,
you dared not adopt that conclusion,, although
you had been in possession of th© same informa
tion forty-one day* Your own conduct in this
matter completely refutes this chargs of your*
in the widest speculations as to the sad con-
Renees which attended this impute*’, error.
* fuming that my orders diverted these troops,
® ra nv others, (an assertion which 1 shall con-
°' er t hereafter,) the circumstances justified the
measure. The critical condition of General
a *j or Recording to all accounts, receive*! here
EM \* t ' me ’ ' s state< * * n ra ^ krter to 3 T ou.of the
March. To show that the department ac-
rf properly, though it incurred your reproof, it
necessary to recall the facta as theyappeaned
t re * They are presented in the following ex-
to°m that letter:
, J ne information which has just reached usin
T» rumor8 » ** th® situation of Gen.
an< ^ tarces under his command,has
the most painful apprehensions for their
It is almost certain that Santa Anna
J^ipatated the laige army he had collected
it m , 3 de Potosi upon Gen. Taylor; and
l>e that the General has not been able to
-to the advanced position he had seen fit
ttK* ** Ago* Nueva, but has been obligato
» it ° n Monte »T* h w equally certain
* «Uexican.force has been interposed be
an d efficiency,” and who had distinguished
themselves at Vera Cruz and Cero Gordo, and,
in the hour of peril, had fought by the side of
your vet.ertan troops, and merited an honorable
share in the glory of those memorable conflicts?
The period of their engagement had not expired.
When thus, sent away, bat one of the seven
regiments had less than thirty, and most of them
had more than forty-five days to serve. Ac
cording to your own opinion, concurred in by
the department, they could have been legally
retained on your line of operations till the hist
hour of their engagement If not deemed ex
pedient to take them on towards Mexico with
you, their services, at that critical period, would
have been of inestimable value in holding the
post at Jalapa—sp important, and so unexpect
edly abandoned-^f-and in keeping open a conu-
municatiori between Vera Cruz and your head
quarters, whereby supplies, munitions, and re
cruits could be safely and expeditiously for
warded to you. Had this been done, you would
have been spared the trouble of inditing many
items of grievance and complaints against the
War Department for having failed to furnish
them. If you had retained die twelve months’
volunteers until the end of their agreement*—
and no sufficient reason has yet been shown for
their premature discharge—you might, for a
season at least, have received, without touch
obstruction, supplies from the main depot on
the Gulf; the army might have been strength
ened by re inforcements at an earlier period;
and many of the revolting scenes of barbarity
on die road from Vera Cruz to Jalapa, in which
so many lives of our fellow-citizens have been
sacrificed by tMfc ruthless guerrUlerqs, would
not have occurred.
Another and will tnorc lamentable calamity
is, I think, fairly to be ascribed ,to the early
obstruction of this important fine of communi
cation. The brave and patriotic men who were
hurried on to Mexico, in small detachments, in
order to re-in force your army, were unexpect
edly, but necessarily detained at Vera Cruz until
the numbers there collected were sufficient to
force th,ejr $vay through the strong guerilla
ban4s which held tjio difficult passes on the
Jalapa road, Whfie (bus detained on that in
hospitable coast, iq the sickly season, fhey
were exposed to the attacks of a wasting pesti
lence, more formidable, and, as it unfortunately
proved, more destructive, than the Mexican
army.
When the unwelcome news of the premature
discharge of ^this laige body of volunteers was
received here, unaccompanied by any explana
tion to show the necessity of the act, it excited
very general surprise and regret. Its conse
quences were at once foreseen; but the step
had been taken, and could not be retraced. It
was loudly condemned. Many did not believe
ccpi:°n, so suddenly apqpted, was as suddenly
carried out; your army was, |ndpcd, converted
“ into a self-sustaining machine;” you dischaig.*
ed the twelve months’ volunteers, and broke up
your posts at Jalapa and on the way to your
main depot, “resolved,” as you announced,
“ no longer to depend on Vera Cruz or home”
—you put yourself beyond the reach of the
supplies which had been provided by the gov
ernment, and render yourself, in a great meas
ure, inaccessible to the recruits and levies (ex
cept in strong parties) which had been raised
to augment your command. In this way, y*ou
rendered unavailing, for a time at least, all that
had been or cou|d be done by the assiduous
and incessant labors of the War Department in
all its branches; and then you recklessly put
forth the groundless complaint of “ a tojtal want
of support and sympathy” from it»
Your letter qf the 25th of July, which was
not received at Washington until the 30th of
December last, abounds with coqlplaiuts against
the department, and refers in strong terms to
the wants and sufferings of the army at that
time. Before you ventured to make its then
destitute condition a ground of charge against
the War Department, you ought tQ have recol
lected that these afflictions fell upon it in the
midst of your experiment of making it “ a self-
sustaining machine”—and were tlie legitimate
fruits of that experiment. These sufferings
came upon it before your estimated period of
isolation from “ Vera Cruz and home’* had half
expired. When you had designedly and un
necessarily abandoned boffi, and entered upon
your self-sustaining position, “ cut off from all
supplies and re-inforcemepts from home, until
perhaps late in November,” by what pretence
of justice do you complafo of the Wpr Depart
ment for the distresses you thus voluntarily
inflicted upon yourself and the gallant army
under your command? Something very differ
ent from censure and reproof is due for the
extraordinary a/forts which were successfully
made fo reach you with recruits and supplies
in your sequestered situation, and to rescue
you from the embarrassments in which your
ill-judged measures had involved you. I have
brought into view this unaccountable movement
of yours, with no purpose to make any com
ment upon it as a military measure, but solely
to show that the evils resulting from it are not
just grounds of accusation against the War
Department, and that the labored attempt to
pervert them to such a purpose discloses the
manner and spirit with which you have executed
the assumed task of its accuser.
As you have indulged in the widest range of
speculation in regard to the alleged sinister mo
tives and covert designs of others, I feel less re
luctant to present my views as to the main ob
ject of your last communication. Throughout
the whole of it, and particularly in the conclu
ding part, yqu manifest the utmost solicitude to
place yourself in the position of an injured and
persecuted man. With all the aid you cande-
rive from dexterous strategy, you will be likely
to fail in your attempt, unless you can have the
full benefit of your high coloring gjfapne facts,
before the court of Inquiry* now sitting in Mexi- j wifii the full and fair discharge qf this duty.—
co. Your request to be recalled, thus ultimate- j I know it has keen faithfully performed. There
ly grapted, was prefaepd with imaginary com-j arc spine men for >vhom enough cannot be
plaints, whiefi could npt he passed w jthqut po- j done (p make them grateful, or even just, unless
tice, npr noticed without exposing their ground-; acts of subserviency and personal devotedness
lpssnees. If the exposition has given offence, j are suppradded.- From you I exppeted bare
you can blame only yourself for introducing i justice; but hayp been disappointed- I have
complaints so entirely unfounded. j found ypu piy accuser. In my vindication, I
✓ The crowning outrage, as you regard jt, is ! have endeavored to maintain a defensive line;
the simple fact that you, and “the three aprest- and if I have gpne beyond it at any (ime, it has
ed officers,” are q|l to be placed together before beep done to rppcj unprovoked aggression. To
the same court—4he innocent and the guilty*—! 3’oqr fame I have endeavored to be just I have
the accuser and the accused ; the judge aruj his I beep gratified w|lh the many occasions I have
prisoners are dealt with alike.” “Most impar-1 had to bear public testimony to your abilities,
tial justice!” you pxplaim. And why is jt not! and signal servjcps as a military commander in
impartial justice ? Op what ground of right the field. It has been, and, under any change
can you claim to have your case discriminated ! in our personal relations, it will continue to bo,
from theirs ? It is true* you have assuAed to . my purpose to be liberal in my appreciation of
be the|r judge, and hayt pronounced them guilty; j your distinguished military merits. In respect
and cpmplain and ppp|ue that the laws of the | to your errors and * your foults, though I could
country 00 not allow yqu, their accuser, to in- j not be blind, I regret that you have not permit-
stitutc a court to register your decree. But you ; ted me to be s||ent.
are not their rightful judge, although they were I I have the honor to be, very respectfully^
your prisoners. Before that court you all stand j3 r our obedient servant,
on the same level, and a|l have equal rights.-
Though you may have (he self-satisfying con
viction that you arq innocent and they are guil
ty, the government could act upop no such pre
sumption. By bQeumjng an accuser, ypu did
not place yoursp|f bey ond the reach of being
accused; unless ypu are clothed with the im
munity of despotic power, and can claim the
benefit of the maxim “that the King can do no
wrong,” I know not why your conduct, when
made the subject of charges, may pot be inves
tigated by a court of inquiry; nor can I per
ceive what other or better right you have to
complain of and arraign the government, than
live other officers whom you have accused, ard
whose cases pith yours, were referred to the
same court. If yours is a hard case, theirs is
not less so. If you can rightfully complain of
persecution by the government, so can they,
with equal justice, au<J equal claim to public
sympathy.
The charges against you did not emanate
from the government, nor did they relate to a
matter in which jt could feel any peculiar inter
est Not befeeying 4 impossible for you to do
wrong, or that you were exempt from oft re
sponsibility for whatever y*aif /nighjtfeoyc done,
the government deemed jt proper, when charges
are preferred against you, cpnfeng from a source
entitled to respect, id cause them to be investi
gated, As tlve usqaj and mildest mode of pro-
W. L. MARCY,
Sccretajy of War,
Major General Winfield Scott,
S. Army, Mexico.
The Dignity of Labor.
There is no word so much abused as that of
labor. The rich and poor, clerk and mechanic,
merchant and farmer, all abuse it. One calls
labor “ dignity,” another looks upon it as dis
graceful. As applied to a man who wqrks, the
word has a dignified connection only as being
the name for the employment of one of God’s
created beings, and in this case it© dignity is
comparative according to the creature pf wpom
it is spoken. Dignity cannot be appjfed tq any
thing inanimate. It can onjy be appjipd fo sen
sitive beings, and probably <0 map pfone. Dig
nity cannot therefore be predicated pf labor. It
applies to the laborer, and not to him because
he is a laborer, but as it respects his character.
Nor, on the other hand, cap degradation be ap
plied to labor. Custom, however, has taught
us U> regard certain kinds pf labor as dignified
or Honorable, and certain other kinds degrading.
This is a false sentiment. Man should, and yet
will, be looked upon with every mark of respect,
independent of his daijy occupation. Hie right
means to bring about such views generally, is
that of noble sentiment and intelligence- bold-
ing up the man for his worth independent of (ha
ceeding, they were referred to a court of inqui-! name of thp occupation of which ho bon^stfy
labors. Thp mechanical classes are divided
ry. Until you can show that you enjoy the
trancendental privilege to have your official con
duct exempt from all examination in any form
whatever, you have no cause to complain ofthe
course taken in regard to the charges against
you.
If your extraordinary pretensions are fo de
rive any support from v 0 ur distinguished servi
ces in the field, you ought to be mindful that the
three accused officers put under arrest by you
have like claims for distinguished services. On
the pages of ini partial history, their names and
their gallant deeds must appear with yours; and
no monopolizing claims, seeking “malignant ex
clusions” at the expense,of the “truth of History,”
will be permitted to rob them of their fair share
of the glory won by our gallant army while un
der your command.
With ypur assault upon the character of your
“erratic brother,” I shall ncit intermeddle; but I
must repel jour charge tfiat he has been favor
ed for being a political deserter “ to the true
faith”—for signalizing Ids apostacy by accep
table denunciations of one “to whom ho hod
formerly” professed (and not without cause) the
highest obligations. The reasons for not see
ing your charges against Brevet Major General
Worth to the court of isquiiy, are set forth in
my letter of the 13th of January. I regret that
thpy are so entirely unsatisfactory to yon, but!
am consoled with the assurance that they are in
ofoer quarters more favorably received. The
errors of your commentary on my letter have
Whig papers."
Whatr
into cashes, One class of tradesmen fopjcdown
upon another, and all classes ;are «norp $r less
imbupd with the same feelings, Suc£ senti
ments should be banished fodm <pvery breast
“ Tis worth that makes the maj;.”—'S&CMifc
American.
An American Consul wrhing feomoae ofthe
most distant ports, where our flag -of cpuimerco
visits writes thus:
“ The course that tfie Whig party and the
Whig presses in particular are taking against
the Mexican war and the honor of our country,
and their bitter and malignant opposition to the
administration of the govevnment, is looked
upon by foreigners resident here,.a^yery* strange
and irreconcilable with a due regard to u*
honor of thejr oountry, and make me blush;
sometimes and I feel mortified to think of it—t
that meji Here in a free country, protected by
it, coul4 entertain and offer suph tory and un-*
patriot sentiments as I have seen used in the
man with an American soul in his body,
can sustain a party with such a reputation *t‘
home and abroad. '
Mr. Adams was once asked what he most la
mented in his life. He answered—" My impetf
nods temper and vituperous manner of speech,
which prevents me frpm returning good for ev3,
and induces me, in madness of my blood, fo
say things lam afterwards ashamed of”